No Place for a Girl Like Me

By Louise Ruane

Louise's tragicomic memoir is set in Belfast at the start of the Troubles, but the madness in the streets is just a backdrop to the chaos she's experiencing at home. When we meet her in 1969, she's living with her seven younger brothers, a live in teenage 'mother's helper', her chauvinistic 'fixer' father and her deeply religious, golf mad mother.

Louise explores with humour, the unique challenge of trying to experience a semi normal teenage life when the IRA (and her mother ) are doing their absolute best to scupper her plans.

The complicated nuances of identity in Northern Ireland are illustrated by Louise's close relationship with her maternal grandmother, who once a proud Ulster Protestant is now happily ensconced in an IRA stronghold.

Louise dreams of emigrating to California (or anywhere with a bit of sunshine), where she'll become a celebrity hairdresser, and no-one will ask what school she went to. But things don't quite work out like that, and Louise unexpectedly finds herself training to be a teacher. Then, just as things are looking particularly grim, along comes what seems like the perfect opportunity to escape.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1836281048
• ISBN13: 9781836281047
• Release Date: February 2025
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.8"